Salah Choudhury

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Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
সালাহ উদ্দিন শোয়েব চৌধুরী
Salah Choudhury.jpg
Choudhury in 2011
Born
Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury

(1965-01-12) 12 January 1965 (age 56)
Sylhet, East Pakistan, Pakistan
NationalityBangladeshi
OccupationJournalist
Criminal charge(s)Smuggling information out of the country,[1] sedition[2]
Criminal penaltyImprisonment
Criminal statusConvicted for 3 months[1] and for 4 years[2]

Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury (born 12 January 1965) is the editor of the Bangladeshi tabloid Weekly Blitz.[3][4]

Controversy[]

Choudhury was arrested on 29 November 2003 when he tried to attend a seminar in Tel Aviv at the invitation of the International Forum for the Literature and Culture of Peace. He was charged with sedition, treason and blasphemy in 2003, and a case was filed against him on 24 January 2004 by Mohammad Abdul Hanif, head of Airport Police Station of Dhaka, who claimed that he was a Mossad agent based on the documents found in his possession. On 9 January 2014, he was convicted by a Dhaka court of sedition under section 505 (A) of Bangladesh's Penal Code.[5][6]

In March 2011, Aryeh Yosef Gallin, founder and president of the Root and Branch Association (a nonprofit group that promotes co-operation between Israel and other nations), expelled Choudhury from its Islam-Israel Fellowship after reports surfaced that the Bangladeshi had swindled "emotionally vulnerable single Jewish ladies" out of tens of thousands of dollars.[7]

On 7 November 2012, the Dhaka court sent Choudhury to jail in connection to an embezzlement case filed by his business partner Sajjad Hossain, chairman of Bangladesh Center for International Studies. He was convicted in 2015 by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court and sentenced to four years of rigorous imprisonment.[8][9]

Publications[]

Choudhury has written a number of books in Bengali and English. His book Injustice & Jihad was published in October 2007. In May 2008, the Italian publication house Neftasia published Choudhury's book titled Non Sono Colpevole (I Am Not Guilty) in Italian.[10]

The Bangladeshi passport is valid for all countries of the world except Israel.

He was interviewed in a documentary titled America at Risk, which was produced by Citizens United Productions, USA.[11]

Inside Madrassa was published in October 2009 in Bangladesh, in which Choudhury gave extensive information on madrassa education, including unknown facts, Jihadist orientation inside madrassa, hate speech, and many other important thus interesting topics, mostly related to radical Islam.

Choudhury opened a branch of the Israel-based International Forum for Literature and Culture of Peace. He wrote about the rise of al-Qaeda in Bangladesh and has written articles critical of anti-Zionist and antisemitic attitudes in Muslim-majority countries.[12]

Assaults[]

In July 2006, a mob stormed the Weekly Blitz's offices and beat Choudhury, fracturing his ankle.[13] According to the Wall Street Journal columnist Bret Stephens, in September of the same year, a judge ordered the case to continue, despite the government's reluctance to prosecute as Choudhury had "spoiled" the "image of Bangladesh" and "hurt the sentiments of Muslims" by lauding Jews, Hindus and Christians. After the police detail that had been posted to the offices had left, the offices were ransacked and Choudhury was badly beaten by a mob. When he lodged a formal complaint with the police, an arrest warrant was issued for him. The US Embassy in Dhaka sent an observer to his trial.[14]

Choudhury later lodged a case in the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate against his attackers, most of whom were affiliated with the Cultural Wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).[15]

On 18 March 2008, members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) abducted Choudhury from his office at gunpoint. He was blindfolded and taken to an RAB office before being released. Series of written complaints were sent with the military-controlled interim government on this incident, but action was never taken by the Bangladesh authorities against the RAB.[16][17]

On 22 February 2009, armed thugs claiming to belong to the Awami League entered Choudhury's office, ransacked it, and physically assaulted him and other members of the Weekly Blitz newspaper.[18]

Treason charges[]

Further information: Bangladesh–Israel relations

Choudhury faced charges of sedition, treason, blasphemy, and espionage since January 2004 for attempting to attend a conference of the Hebrew Writers' Association in Tel Aviv. He violated the Passport Act by attempting to travel to Israel in November 2003; the Act forbids citizens from visiting countries with which Bangladesh does not maintain diplomatic relations, and is usually punishable with a fine. On 29 November, he was taken into police custody and allegedly blindfolded, beaten and interrogated for ten days in an attempt to extract a confession that he was an Israeli spy.[19] He spent the next 17 months in solitary confinement and was denied medical treatment for his glaucoma. On the intervention of US Congressman Mark Kirk, who spoke to Bangladesh's ambassador to the US, Choudhury was released on bail, though the charges were not dropped.[14]

The Weekly Blitz[]

Weekly Blitz
Weekly Blitz.jpg
TypeNational weekly newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
EditorSalah Choudhury
Founded2003
LanguageEnglish
Websitewww.weeklyblitz.net

Choudhury is the editor and owner of the English language newspaper Weekly Blitz,[20] and editor-in-chief of Bangla weekly Jamjamat. Weekly Blitz is a tabloid which has been published every Wednesday since 2003 by Choudhury.[21]

The tabloid proclaims that it watches, investigates, and focuses on Islamist militancy groups; and defends religious minority groups in Bangladesh.[22]

In July 2006, the office of this newspaper was bombed by Islamist militants.[23][24]

In March 2008, members of the Rapid Action Battalion raided the office of Weekly Blitz and arrested its editor from the office; the editor was released after several hours.[25][26]

Views on Islam[]

Choudhury rejects the assertion by Geert Wilders that there are moderate Muslims, but no moderate Islam: "My Islam derives from the Koran. This teaches that Muslims, Jews, and Christians will all be rewarded for good deeds and punished for evil."[27]

Inqilab Television[]

Choudhury was the managing director of Inqilab Television, a private television venture run by the Daily Inqilab, and was also a correspondent for the newspaper. He claims his ownership share in the station was sold without his consent. In a court appearance, Choudhury claimed that his arrest was motivated by the financial dispute over his ownership stake in Inqilab Television.

Support for Choudhury[]

The campaign to get the government of Bangladesh to drop all charges against Choudhury was led by Dr. Richard Benkin. Benkin, like Choudhury, is an advisory board member of the Islam-Israel Fellowship.[28] Benkin and Choudhury founded Interfaith Strength to disseminate information about Choudhury's case.

The European Parliament made a Motion for Resolution on 14 November 2006, in defense of Choudhury.[29]

Other entities around the globe that showed support for Choudhury and his ideals include the Parliament of Australia,[30] the Italian Muslim Association,[31] the International Society For Human Rights,[32] the American Jewish Committee,[33] and the Overseas Press Club of America.[34]

Michelle Malkin has also expressed support for Choudhury.[35]

US House Resolution 64[]

On 15 February 2007, House Resolution 64[36] passed the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs without opposition. The resolution, introduced by Representatives Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Nita Lowey (D-NY), called on the government of Bangladesh to drop all charges against Choudhury, who was charged with sedition for writing pro-Israel reports. The vote on the resolution was held on 13 March 2007 and the resolution passed by a vote of 409 to 1, with 4 members voting present.[37]

Impact[]

Choudhury and the Weekly Blitz have influenced government policy and popular opinion in Bangladesh, and its articles have prompted the Bangladeshi government to ban the Islamist group Hizb-ut Tahrir and the antisemitic publication Dajjal, which is published by another notorious Islamist militancy group, Hizbut Towhid. A campaign against Zakir Naik led Britain and Canada to refuse him entry.[27]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b ""Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury"". Refworld(United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). 31 December 2017.
  2. ^ "About Us". Weekly Blitz. Dhaka. 15 February 2012. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  3. ^ International Federation of Journalists (11 July 2006). "Office of controversial magazine Weekly Blitz bombed, Bangladesh". Centre for Independent Journalism. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007.
  4. ^ "Shoaib jailed for sedition". The Daily Star. 10 January 2014.
  5. ^ "Journalist gets seven-year jail sentence for decade-old articles | Reporters without borders". RSF. 9 January 2014.
  6. ^ Luxner, Larry (13 June 2012). "The unfathomable life of Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury". The Times of Israel.
  7. ^ "Blitz editor sent to jail". The Daily Observer. 20 February 2015.
  8. ^ "Blitz editor sent to jail". The Daily Star. 10 November 2012.
  9. ^ "Non sono colpevole Choudhury Salah U." (in Italian). 25 April 2008.
  10. ^ "America at Risk - Newt and Callista Gingrich - Citizens United Productions". www.americaatrisk.com.
  11. ^ Bangladesh: Journalist detained, The Committee to Protect Journalists, 3 December 2003
  12. ^ Michael Freund, US slams trial of Bangladeshi newsman Archived 24 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Holiday International, 3 November 2006
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b Darkness in Dhaka – A gadfly Bangladeshi journalist runs for his life by Bret Stephens, The Wall Street Journal, 15 October 2006
  14. ^ Stephens, Bret (10 October 2006). "Darkness in Dhaka" – via www.wsj.com.
  15. ^ McLeod, Judi. "Bangladeshi Rapid Action Battalion swoops down on Salah Choudhury". Canada Free Press.
  16. ^ "Assam Times - RAB's terror in Bangladesh". web.archive.org. 13 November 2011.
  17. ^ Benkin, Dr Richard. "Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury Attacked by Goons". Canada Free Press.
  18. ^ Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2003, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 25 February 2004
  19. ^ Freund, Michael (17 October 2006). "Pro-Israeli editor beaten in Bangladesh". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  20. ^ Bracing For The Blitz: The Religious Right Has A New Game Plan To Make America More to Its Liking – and If It's Not Already in Your State, It Will Be Soon;
  21. ^ "Why Forces Intelligence attacked Weekly Blitz office in Bangladesh?". ModernGhana.com. 31 March 2009. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  22. ^ Press release by Committee to Protect Journalists.
  23. ^ Albrechtsen, Janet (15 November 2006). "No tolerance for love and mercy in Bangladesh". The Australian. Archived from the original on 15 December 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
  24. ^ "Bangladesh on Trial". The Wall Street Journal (Editorial). 27 March 2008.
  25. ^ Stephens, Bret (10 October 2006). "Darkness in Dhaka". The Wall Street Journal.
  26. ^ Jump up to: a b Bangladesh's Muslim Zionist on trial The JC, By Brian Sacks, 2 September 2010
  27. ^ Bio of Dr. Richard Benkin, Interfaith Strength
  28. ^ [1]
  29. ^ "ParlInfo - MR SALAH UDDIN SHOAIB CHOUDHURY". parlinfo.aph.gov.au.
  30. ^ "IMRA - Tuesday, December 2, 2003 Italian Muslim Association asks Bangladesh to release Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury". www.imra.org.il.
  31. ^ "Home".
  32. ^ Committee, American Jewish. "AJC Condemns Sentencing of Bangladeshi Editor Shoaib Choudhury". www.prnewswire.com.
  33. ^ "Bangladesh April 7, 2005". OPC.
  34. ^ "A moderate Muslim fights for his life". The Unz Review.
  35. ^ "House Resolution 64" (PDF).
  36. ^ "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 139". Office of the Clerk. U.S. House of Representatives.

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